Monday, July 25, 2011

week 13 Kym expresses frustration with beach debris and "the acceptance of litter"

Oceanic was a mess! (north side), straws, paper coasters, napkins, etc. They really should do away with this type of inventory or clean it up themselves! Although not my zone, & all the trash was not from restaurant, I picked up everything but some napkins (uhhgh).

Yesterday was one of those frustrating mornings for me maybe it was the high humidly, or maybe it was simply all the appalling litter! I was spending more time zig-zagging the beach to collect small plastics that I know to be harmful to sea life, rather than enjoying the beauty and peacefulness of the setting around me. Most mornings I focus on the positive and can breath and soak it all in, yesterday was the exception. It was frustrating to me that the 50-75 people I saw were enjoying all that our coastline has to offer, while either oblivious to the litter or accepting of it. Surfers, fisherman, swimmers, photographers, joggers, cyclists, families playing, beach combers, parents & children walking hand-in-hand. If all of these people collected just one plastic bottle, aluminum can, firework debris, straw, coaster, napkin, fishing line, glass bottle, juice box, plastic bag, plastic container, cigarette butt, fast food wrapper, paper or plastic cup, plastic beach toy, flip flop, etc. of the many that I saw and collected, the beach would be such a more pleasant place. I do not understand the acceptance of litter. Do people think it will go away on its own? Have they not seen the footage of the ocean trash pit the size of Texas and growing?
Someone once told me something so simple, yet so profound: "If you walk by litter and do not clean it up, it is the same as littering yourself".
I want to be able to focus on the beauty of an ocean sunrise, the hope of turtle tracks and safe seas for all its inhabitants; simple and profound, yet obtainable, but only if we try

1 comment:

.... I know exactly how you (Kym) feel. The good news is that there are people who care... and that's what we have to stay focused on.

Hopefully Oceanic will clean up their mess... well actually... hopefully they will make some major changes to fix the problem before it starts. If they don't... it's up to us to keep on them and help bring awareness to the problem.